Hollywood is obsessed with the resurrection right now. And I don’t mean a sequel to “The Passion Of The Christ”.
I’m talking about the resurrection of past successes. Take a look at just a few of the movies and tv shows getting ready to relaunch after years of dormancy:
Star Wars Episodes 7/8/9. Anchorman 2. A Dumb and Dumber Sequel. The Boy Meets World continuation Girl Meets World. The Veronica Mars movie. A new season of 24. Another new season of Arrested Development. Seriously – that’s just a sampling of the classics Hollywood is resurrecting.
You’d think I might be uncontrollably excited about a few of these. Anchorman is probably the funniest movie of the past decade. Dumb and Dumber is my favorite comedy of all time. But I’m pretty much dreading these sequels.
Most resurrections are disappointing. When a classic movie or tv show ends the audience is often left wanting more. There’s an emptiness from where the art left an indelible imprint upon our lives.
Fans long for a sequel or another season or even just a reunion special to fill the void. There’s a part of us that thinks if Star Wars could just come back for another round then life would be better. Things might be like they used to be. Maybe the cinema can save us and everything that was perfect and new and together when the first movie came out will be healed by another sequel.
Fans long for a resurrection to save them from dreary days where other movies and shows do not live up to what came before. But these resurrections are insufficient.
The resurrected Ron Burgundy cannot rescue you, no matter how powerful his mustache may be. The resurrected Han Solo cannot call upon his Jedi friends to fix the emptiness in your life. They can only distract you for a few hours at a time.
In fact, these resurrected forms of entertainment often drag down the original works of art by failing to live up to the inflated expectations of years worth of longing for something more. The latest season of Arrested Development is an example of a landmark television show’s legacy being slightly brought down by a very good but not great resurrection.
Why do we long for resurrection from Hollywood? Why do our hearts and mind crave new seasons and sequels from the favorites of our past?
I think it’s because our hearts are in the right place, just with the wrong focus.
There is something broken inside of us longing to be put back together again. We live in a fallen world. We hope for healing.
Something built into our nature seeks the hope of resurrection to put the world back together again. Something ingrained into our souls craves rescue from a familiar hero. That desire comes from God.
God built into our framework a longing for salvation. Our broken and sinful spirits can only be satisfied by the saving grace of Jesus.
Sometimes we recognize this. Other times our inner compasses just get out of whack. Our hopes rest in Jack Bauer or Lloyd Christmas instead.
We petition and help pay for a movie sequel on Kickstarter. We line up for days for the midnight premiere hoping to find the answer to our fulfillment. But we leave the theater empty. Entertained for a few hours, but still altogether empty.
It doesn’t have to be like this. The next time a sequel comes across your screen, enjoy it. Just don’t seek your redemption in a Hollywood resurrection.
For what you crave cannot be satisfied by popcorn entertainment. The resurrection your heart longs for can only be satisfied by the one true sequel who actually lived up to the hype of His arrival.
Have you ever been disappointed by a Hollywood resurrection?
